PERIYAR IAS CURRENT AFFAIRS 8-MARCH-2018
Paper 1:
Topic:
Social empowerment.
#YesIBleed Campaign
Context: The government has
launched the #YesIBleed menstrual hygiene campaign.
What is it?
“#Yes
I Bleed” aims to create a holistic approach to the issue of menstruation, which
is an experience that transcends culture, class, and caste. The campaign has
been initiated formally across all multi-media platforms, including Facebook
and YouTube to spread awareness about the issue.
Background:
The
United Nations has recognised menstrual hygiene as a global public health and a
human rights issue yet across the globe. “Period poverty” as some call it, is a
reality for millions of women and girls.
Concerns:
§ Today,
in India, approximately 35 crore women menstruate and it is estimated that only
12% use proper menstrual hygiene practices and menstrual products. The
remaining 88% having no access whatever. They find sanitary pads unaffordable.
§ In
India’s rural areas, with the lack of resources, education and awareness about
personal hygiene, not just lack of information about hygiene products, the
women don’t even have any conversation around menstruation.
§ For
the less privileged, periods are the few ‘cursed’ days of the month. A woman on
her periods cannot enter the temple, kitchen or take part in any auspicious
occasion – because she is ‘impure’.
§ The
88% who do not have access to sanitary pads use unsanitised cloth, husk sand,
tree leaves and even ash. These can cause severe reproductive health problems
and infections, and can also lead to cervical cancer.
§ Also,
there is the issue of school dropouts and poor attendance because of inadequate
menstrual hygiene management. This also is one of the causes for loss of wages
for women labourers.
§ Equally
important is the safe disposal of used sanitary pads, which actually are an
environmental disaster. In villages, the used pads often end up in village
ponds, exposing every human being and animal to the risk of infection.
Way ahead:
Menstruation
is still a taboo subject in our country and a topic that even women are
uncomfortable discussing in public. This was a much-needed awareness campaign,
and added that the subject of menstrual hygiene is “more about a change of
mindset than simply about the use of proper menstrual products”. Mindset change
is happening, but much more needs to be done.
It
is high time people dispel the misconceptions that surround the normal
physiological process of menstruation and discard the restrictions imposed on
women during “the time of the month”.
What’s important?
§ For
Prelims: “YesIbleed” campaign.
§ For
Mains: Women empowerment and associated issues.
Sources:
the hindu.
Topic:
Social empowerment.
International Women’s Day 2018
Context: International Women’s Day
is being celebrated on March 8 across the world. It is an annual marker that
aims to bring attention to women’s accomplishments and obstacles.
Theme: The theme for
International Women’s Day 2018 is ‘Time is Now: Rural and urban activists
transforming women’s lives‘. The theme aims to encourage women to raise
voice for their rights and promote growing global movement to support gender
parity.
How it all began?
§ The
first Women’s Day was celebrated on February 28, 1909, in New York by the
Socialist Party of America. The day was dedicated to the 15,000 women who
marched through New York in 1908 as part of the garment strike.
§ In
1910, a German activist Clara Zetkin proposed the idea of celebrating Women’s
Day in March at the 1910 International Conference of Working Women in
Copenhagen.
§ On
March 19, 1911, Women’s Day was celebrated in Austria, Denmark, Germany, and
Switzerland.
§ In
1975, the United Nations declared March 8 as the official date to celebrate
Women’s Day.
Sources:
the hindu.
Paper 2:
Topic:
Indian diaspora.
Know India Programme
Context: Forty Indian-origin
students from nine countries are in India as part of the 46th edition
of Know India Programme (KIP). Madhya Pradesh is the partner state for this
edition of the programme.
Know India Programme:
What is it? Know India Programme is a
flagship programme of Ministry of External Affairs for engagement with Indian
origin youth (between 18-30 years) to enhance their awareness
about India, its cultural heritage, art and to familiarise them with various
aspects of contemporary India.
Eligibility: Minimum qualification
required for participating in KIP is graduation from a recognized University
/Institute or enrolled for graduation and ability to speak in English. The
applicant should not have visited India through any previous Programme of
Government of India. Those who have not visited India before will be given
preference.
What’s important?
§ For
Prelims: KIP, eligibility.
§ For
Mains: Indian diaspora and its significance.
Sources:
the hindu.
Paper 3:
Topic:
Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.
National E-Mobility programme
Context: The government has
launched the National E-Mobility Programme.
About the National E- Mobility Programme:
§ The
Programme aims to provide an impetus to the entire e-mobility ecosystem
including vehicle manufacturers, charging infrastructure companies, fleet
operators, service providers, etc.
§ The
Programme will be implemented by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) which
will aggregate demand by procuring electric vehicles in bulk to get economies
of scale.
§ Energy
Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL) will issue a fresh tender for additional 10,000
e-vehicles. These electric vehicles will replace the existing fleet of petrol
and diesel vehicles.
Significance of this move:
India
has embarked on an ambitious e-mobility plan and the government has taken the
leadership in enabling e-mobility in India. The National E-Mobility Programme
is a step towards ushering in an era of clean, green and future-oriented
technologies in the country.
Challenges ahead:
Mainstreaming
electric vehicles will require an overhaul of the country’s energy and
transport infrastructure. For example, EV charging stations will have to be set
up on a war footing, and electricity generation will have to improve
significantly even as its piggybacks on the push for solar energy. EV
technology (especially the battery) will have to become much cheaper before it
can perform well in a price-sensitive market like India.
Way ahead:
With
the onus of being the second-largest populated country in the world, India has
a lot of reasons to rejoice over the bright outlook of the adoption of electric
vehicles in India. NIT Aayog said in a recent report that can cut its energy
demand by 64% and carbon emissions by 37% by making its passenger mobility
shared, electric, and connected. The concept not only helps India to fulfil its
renewable energy goals but also assists it in other facets like the ‘Make in
India’ vision.
The
Indian automobile industry is the sixth-largest in the world and accounts for a
whopping 22% of the country’s total manufacturing output. The large-scale
adoption of electric vehicles can play an important role in increasing the
share of manufacturing in India’s GDP from the current 15% to 25% by 2022.
About EESL:
Energy
Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) is a joint venture of NTPC Limited, Power
Finance Corporation, Rural Electrification Corporation and POWERGRID, Energy
Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) was set up under Ministry of Power (India)
to facilitate implementation of energy efficiency projects.
What’s important?
§ For
Prelims: National E-Mobility programme, EESL.
§ For
Mains: E mobility- significance, issues, challenges and solutions.
Sources:
pib.
Topic:
awareness in space.
Parker solar probe
Context: NASA is inviting people
around the world to submit their names online to be placed on a microchip
aboard NASA’s historic Parker Solar Probe mission launching in summer
2018. Parker Solar Probe is part of NASA’s Living with a Star Program,
or LWS, to explore aspects of the Sun-Earth system that directly affect life
and society.
The mission:
§ Parker
Solar Probe will swoop to within 4 million miles of the sun’s surface, facing
heat and radiation like no spacecraft before it. Launching in 2018, Parker
Solar Probe will provide new data on solar activity and make critical
contributions to our ability to forecast major space-weather events that impact
life on Earth.
§ The
primary science goals for the mission are to trace the flow of energy and
understand the heating of the solar corona and to explore what accelerates the
solar wind. Parker Solar Probe provides a statistical survey of the outer
corona.
Parker Solar Probe has three detailed science objectives:
§ Trace
the flow of energy that heats and accelerates the solar corona and solar wind.
§ Determine
the structure and dynamics of the plasma and magnetic fields at the sources of
the solar wind.
§ Explore
mechanisms that accelerate and transport energetic particles.
Background:
Understanding
the Sun has always been a top priority for space scientists. Studying how the
Sun affects space and the space environment of planets is the field known as
heliophysics. The field is not only vital to understanding Earth’s most important
and life-sustaining star, it supports exploration in the solar system and
beyond.
What’s important?
§ For
Prelims: Parker solar probe, living with a star program.
§ For
Mains: Study of sun- significance and how it helps in better understanding of
earth.
Sources:
et.
Topic:
Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology.
Air-Breathing Electric Thruster (ABET)
Context: The European Space Agency
(ESA) is building Air-Breathing Electric Thruster (ABET) that can possibly
extend the working life of satellites by years and even help with
interplanetary travel using just the air around it as a propellant.
About Air-Breathing Electric Thruster (ABET):
How it works? An air-breathing engine
works by collecting the sparse air at the edge of the atmosphere and compresses
it to a point that it becomes thermalised ionised plasma. It then fires out the
plasma using an electric charge to achieve thrust. An air breathing thruster
could keep a satellite operational for extended periods of time if it only uses
the air around it for fuel instead of propellants.
This
Air-Breathing Electric Thruster (ABET) does not operate in complete vacuum, but
works in low Earth orbit (LEO) – altitude of 2,000 km or less– notes the ESA.
At LEO, the air is scarce, but not entirely absent. In fact, there is enough
air to cause a drag on spaceships and satellites. This is why there are
on-board engines installed on satellites to correct course every time it moves
out of position.
Sources:
the hindu.
Facts for Prelims:
A toll-free number for highway users:
Context:
A 24×7 Unique Toll Free Helpline “1033” has been launched for road users on
National Highways. NHAI had assigned the work for establishment of the Helpline
using 4-digit toll free number “1033” to IHMCL.
Salient
Features:
§ A
single 4-digit Toll Free Universal Access Number (UAN) “1033”.
§ Single
point of contact for public in case of accident or other emergencies on
National Highways.
§ Single
point contact for reporting issues related to National Highways e.g. obstruction
of highways due to a fallen tree, dharna, flat tyre, bad road condition etc.
§ Immediate
help to road accident victims during the golden hour by making available
ambulance, treatment facilities and cranes to remove wrecked vehicles from the
accident site.
§ Professional
call center agents with 24×7 availability.
“Wings India 2018”:
Context:
The biennial event on Civil Aviation and Aerospace titled “Wings India 2018” is being
held in Hyderabad.
Organizers:
The event with the theme “India-Global Aviation Hub” is organised jointly by
the Union Civil Aviation Ministry, Airports Authority of India and the
Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
About:
“Wings India 2018” aims to be the most comprehensive platform in the region for
the interactions, forging alliances, investments and air connectivity between
the States and the global aviation players/ stakeholders. It will have a
special focus on connecting the cities and towns aimed at increasing the
regional connectivity in the country.
2018 Pritzker prize for Balkrishna doshi:
Context:
Balkrishna Doshi is the newest winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, known
as the Nobel for architects. He has built more than a hundred buildings that
reflect his investment in local materials, social change and the
environment. He is the first Indian to receive the award.
About
the Prize: The international prize, which is awarded each year to a living
architect/s for significant achievement, was established by the Pritzker family
of Chicago through their Hyatt Foundation in 1979. It is granted annually and
is often referred to as “architecture’s Nobel” and “the profession’s highest
honor.” The award consists of $100,000 (US) and a bronze medallion. The award
is conferred on the laureate/s at a ceremony held at an architecturally
significant site throughout the world.
Nari Shakti Puraskar 2017:
Context:
Nari Shakti Puraskars 2017 were presented to 30 women by the President on the
eve of International Women’s Day.
About
Nari Shakti Puraskars:
§ To
acknowledge Women’s achievements, the Government of India confers Nari Shakti
Puraskars on eminent women and institutions in recognition of their service
towards the cause of women empowerment. The Nari Shakti Awards were initiated
in the year 1999.
§ The
Ministry of Women and Child Development announces these national level awards
for eminent women, organisations and institutions.
§ The
Nari Shakti Puraskar carries a cash award of Rs.1 Lakh and a certificate for
individuals and institutions.
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